The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a double shock – health and economic. Strengthening health financing systems has been a stressful task, not only for developing countries but also for developed countries. This study compares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health financing systems and the response of four Asian countries.
This study attempts to take four Asian countries (China, Singapore, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia) as examples to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their health financing systems and their response. A team of experts from Fudan University, the Asian Development Bank, the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Western Pacific and the P4H Coordination Team of the P4H Network adapted a theoretical framework on health financing to the characteristics of Asian countries.
Within the framework, the health financing system focuses on four response domains to adapt to the influence of the pandemic: resource mobilization; allocation and purchase of health resources; social health protection and equity; and sustaining progress towards universal health coverage (UHC).